1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an electrophoretic display sheet, an electrophoretic display, a method for producing an electrophoretic display, and an electronic apparatus.
2. Related Art
It is generally known that when an electric field is applied to a dispersion system prepared by dispersing particles in a liquid, the particles are moved (migrated) in the liquid by the Coulomb force. The phenomenon is called electrophoresis. Recently, as a new type of display, electrophoretic displays have been put in the spotlight, where the electrophoretic phenomenon is taken advantage of to have intended information (images) on a display screen.
The electrophoretic display retains its display memory performance with a wide viewing angle even when an applied voltage is switched off, as well as an additional feature of the display enables high-contrast image display to be achieved at low power consumption.
The electrophoretic display, which is a non-light emitting device, is also characterized by being easy on the eyes, as compared with a light emitting display device such as a cathode ray tube (CRT).
Among the electrophoretic displays as above, there is a known type of display with a plurality of microcapsules. In the display, between a pair of substrates with electrodes thereon, there are provided the microcapsules each enclosing electrophoretic particles and a liquid phase dispersion medium, along with a binder for fixing the substrates to the microcapsules.
In order to produce such an electrophoretic display, JP-A-2002-202534 discloses an example method. In the method, on one of a pair of substrates is supplied a microcapsule dispersion liquid that contains a plurality of microcapsules, a binder, and a dispersion medium. Next, the dispersion medium is removed to locate the microcapsules, and then the other substrate is bonded to the substrate.
In the above patent, an emulsion adhesive is used as the binder. However, the adhesive hardens under room temperature. Thus, once the microcapsules are placed on one of the substrates, it is hard for the microcapsules to be relocated. Consequently, in the electrophoretic display produced, there exist a region with the microcapsules overlapping each other and a region without any of the microcapsules located, thereby causing display unevenness in the display.